Graduation Day
by DezoPenguin
Summary: LilletxAmoretta. Lillet's graduation from the Silver Star Tower has arrived, and she deals with her memories of the past while preparing for her future life, and the choices she makes from hope, ambition, friendship, and love.
1. Chapter 1

"Do you truly think you have escaped me?"

The spectral figure towered over Lillet Blan, limned in pale blue light that wreathed its body like flame.

"A-Archmage Calvaros!" Lillet gasped.

_Lillet._

"Did you think I was defeated? The greatest magician in history, overcome by a little girl?"

The ghost reached for her. Though his body lacked substance, Lillet could feel the bitter cold of his iron gauntlet as it closed around her throat, the pure psychic force of the Archmage's will making a physical manifestation from his disembodied soul.

_Lillet!_

"You...you're dead!" she gasped out. Her mind was blank; no Runes or summons came to her, nothing that could save her.

"Of course, as you soon will be. Only unlike me, when you go screaming into the dark it will be forever."

"N-no!"

The crushing grasp increased steadily, choking off her supply of air. Lillet felt the iron fingers dig into the skin of her throat, stabbing painfully.

_Lillet!_

_What?_

...crushing, grinding...

_Lillet, wa--_

Lillet's eyes snapped open.

"--ke up, already."

Lillet groaned.

"Go 'way," she murmured sleepily.

"Come _on_, Lillet!" Something poked at her face and neck. It was not the iron hand of Calvaros, but the prickly straw bristles of an ordinary broom.

"Geez, just because you haven't had to get up for morning lectures this past week, you've turned into a complete sleepyhead."

Awareness slowly returned to Lillet's mind. Calvaros was just a dream; he was dead and gone, his soul claimed by the devil Grimlet in fulfillment of their contract. Grimlet was gone, too, tricked into breaking a contract with Lillet and so bound in Hell for millennia to come. Lillet remained where she was, in her homey dormitory room at the Silver Star Tower, once Calvaros's stronghold but now a Magic Academy run by the great magician Gammel Dore. Lillet was a student there, studying under--

"Oh, no!" She sat bolt upright in bed. "Today's the graduation ceremony!"

"That's what I've been saying," explained the boy with the broom. His name was Gaff, and looked like a human child of around nine or ten, but his green outfit and cap and his pointed ears revealed him to be an elf, one of the faithful servants of wizards. Gaff worked for Gammel as a caretaker, but had become a loyal friend of Lillet's.

"What time is it?"

"The mid-morning bell just rang."

"Oh, good, I still have time!"

She bolted out of bed and all but flew to the wardrobe, pulling out a clean dress in her trademark purple (she liked the color because it matched her eyes and complimented her honey-blonde hair), then started fishing for underthings.

"Um, you've missed breakfast, but if you wanted me to bring you a tray with something..."

"Sorry, Gaff, but I can't wait." She tossed aside her nightcap and started fumbling with the laces on her sleeping-gown, barely noticing Gaff flush beet-red and bolt out the door. Ten minutes later her boots were echoing on the stairs leading up to Gammel Dore's workroom. Lillet paused on the threshold, patted her hair to make sure that it wasn't too unruly, straightened her high steeple hat, took a deep breath, and knocked.

"Come in, Miss Blan."

_How did he--? Oh, well, he is the world's greatest living wizard._

She opened the door ans stepped inside. Lined with bookshelves, Gammel's workroom was dominated by a giant brass orrery that traced the movements of stars and planets through the night skies and indicated which influences were the strongest for magic worked in a given season. Glowing green figures arced through the air, constellations come to life.

"I'm sorry I'm late, Professor Gammel," Lillet apologized. "I overslept this morning; if Gaff hadn't gotten me up I might have been in bed until noon."

Gammel chuckled.

"Well, after the past few weeks you certainly deserve it."

Gammel Dore looked like a wizard. Perhaps, given his position as head of the Magic Academy and the public face of what proper, honorable magicians were, he cultivated the look on purpose. He was tall and imposing, with long, flowing white hair and beard, and wore formal robes. He always seemed to have a book in his hand, whichever reference work he was last consulting.

"Thank you, Professor, but--"

He chuckled again.

"Think nothing of it, Miss Blan. After all, this is a day of celebration. Never before has there been a prodigy who completed all the courses of study here in five days."

Lillet glanced down.

"You know that isn't true, Professor."

Five days, yes--but how many times had she repeated those five days? She'd been caught in the loops of time by Calvaros's greatest treasure, the Philosopher's Stone, carried back to repeat those five days over and over. How many times had it been, learning, seeking, then forgetting? She only remembered the final five loops of five, because she'd learned enough magic to shatter the Philosopher's Stone and escape the trap of time. It only seemed like five days to everyone else, but she'd had hundreds, perhaps thousands of days to master the teachings of the Magic Academy.

"Yes, I do," Gammel said, "but I also know that, regardless of how it came about, you have honestly completed your lectures and mastered the powers not just of a student, but of a full-fledged magician. And since you did save us all from Grimlet and the Archmage while doing so, then I daresay the knowledge you've gained is only a fair repayment for all that you've done."

"I...Thank you, Professor Gammel."

He seemed to sense her discomfort, for he waved the topic aside.

"In any event, this is not why I asked you to meet with me this morning. If I recall correctly, your ambition to become a magician was for your family's sake?"

Lillet nodded.

"That's right, Professor Gammel. I grew up on a farm in the country, just south of the capital. By learning magic, I hoped to be able to earn enough money to send my little brothers to school. That way if they want to work on the farm they can, but if they don't then they'll have the education to become merchants or scholars or military officers or anything they want!"

"A most laudable goal. I thought that was the case, so I wrote to a few friends of mine with a recommendation, and I heard back just yesterday." He held up a letter written on expensive-looking, cream-colored stationery, then extended it to her.

"'Dear Grand Magician Dore,'" Lillet read aloud. "'We have reviewed your request and upon your recommendation we would be pleased to extend an offer of employment at the Royal House of Magic to Lillet Blan.' The Royal House of Magic?" This was Her Majesty's personal ministry of magic, serving the kingdom through their arts. "I'm going to apprentice at the Royal House of Magic?" she repeated, wide-eyed.

"No, Miss Blan; read it all the way through."

She did so, concentrating despite her excitement. It helped to think of the letter as she would a magical grimoire during battle.

"They...they want to make me a full Royal Magician!" she squealed, barely believing it.

"As indeed they should. You're more than qualified, after all. I know most of the Royal Magicians, and while they have greater experience of the world at large, your magical skills are the equal of any of them."

Lillet crushed the letter to her chest and spun happily.

"Oh, Professor Gammel," she caroled, "this is a dream come true! Thank you! Thank you so much!" She'd have hugged him if she weren't so in awe of the master wizard.

"You're welcome, although truly it was no more than my duty as your teacher. The purpose of the Magic Academy is to encourage every student to develop their gifts--and to teach them to use those gifts to benefit society, as a good example to all magicians. You are a fine magician, Lillet Blan, and I daresay will one day become great, not just as a witch, but as a person."

"I...I don't know what to say," she murmured, overcome.

"There is no need to say anything al all. Now, I daresay I've taken up enough of your time. Go on with you, and remember that the ceremony is this evening after dinner."

"Thank you, Professor Gammel."

Royal Magician! Lillet could still barely believe it, though she held the proof in her hands. It meant a chance to work alongside some of the kingdom's finest wizards and witches. She'd live at the palace, and even get the chance to meet royalty! And best of all, with the kind of salary she'd earn, she could send money home to her parents. They could pay for her brothers' tuition to school, and to hire a farmhand so they could afford to keep the farm going without the boys to help. They were young now, but in a couple more years they'd be doing the work of an adult and that meant a lot on a working farm.

_It's so wonderful! I can't wait to tell Am--_

Lillet froze in place on the stairs as the thought hit her. She hadn't been thinking about it--indeed, some part of her had been actively trying to _avoid_ thinking about it. Until now, she hadn't had any specific plans for after graduation. It was a formal step, an accomplishment, but not a turning point. Becoming a Royal Magician, though, was different. It meant moving on, taking up a new life, new responsibilities. She'd be working in the capital, at the Royal House of Magic.

It meant leaving the Silver Star Tower, her home for a month (or perhaps a century).

It meant leaving something much more precious than that.


	2. Chapter 2

The outer hallways of the Silver Star Tower were light and airy, pierced along their length by high, arched windows that let in the sun and fresh breezes. The ivy that clung to the walls and the dozens of trees that had taken root on the outside ledges of the huge castle helped to relieve the artificial feel of the man-made edifice, providing a reminder that the enclosed world of the tower was merely part of the greater world beyond. Depending upon how high one was, the views ranged from impressive to spectacular.

Lillet sat in one of the casements, dangling her legs over the edge. Usually it was one of her favorite places, but today the fresh air and the view did nothing to lighten her mood. She was so caught up in her misery that she didn't even hear the click of bootheels until they were almost on top of her.

"Hey, Lillet. Why so glum? Isn't this supposed to be your big day?"

"Oh, Margarita."

Margarita Surprise had been Lillet's first friend at the Magic Academy. The apprentice witch was a study in contrasts: her short red hair, the pince-nez spectacles perched on the end of her nose, her dowdy brown dress, and above all her lace cap like a spinster or dowager's suggested a conservative, shy, introverted frump. Only her boots, sleek black leather that came up past the knee, laced up their split sides with rows of deep green ribbon, hinted at her outgoing, vivacious nature. She plopped herself down on the window ledge next to Lillet.

"Come on, out with it," she urged. "Keeping secrets from friends never helps. I ought to know. So what happened? Did Ms. Opalneria decide to flunk you in Necromancy at the last minute or something?"

Lillet shook her head.

"No, nothing like that."

"Well, that's good, because it won't be much of a party tonight if there's nothing to celebrate, and I'm hoping to meet a cute guy. Not that you'd care," Margarita added with a wicked grin, "but the rest of us need to look after ourselves."

Lillet let out a deep sigh.

"Hey, wait, is that the problem? You and Amoretta didn't have a fight or something, did you?"

"No, that's not it...at least that's not it yet." Lillet sniffled, feeling her eyes start to tear up.

"You're _going_ to have a fight? Does this mean you can schedule them in advance now? Is this some kind of advanced divination magic?"

"Margarita!"

"Sorry, just trying to lighten the mood a little, but I guess it fell flat, huh? Seriously, though, come on and tell me what's wrong."

"Professor Gammel recommended me for a post at the Royal House of Magic."

"And they turned you down? Those lousy rats! You're twice the magician any of them are. They'd have been hiding under their beds if they'd had to face off against the Archmage!"

Lillet couldn't help but smile, just for a moment, at her friend's immediate defense of her ability.

"That isn't it, Margarita; they accepted me as a Royal Magician."

"Full-fledged? Not just an apprentice?"

"Uh-huh."

"Well, that's more like it! I told you the first day we met that we'd get a chance to work at the palace someday. Of course, I didn't expect you'd make it so soon--but then, it hasn't really been soon for you, has it, with that weird time loop stuff you told me about? Except you said you only remember, what, five times, so you're only like three weeks ahead of the rest of us in your mind. Anyway, so what's the problem? This is great news, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Lillet said, brushing away a tear. "It is. This is what I've dreamed of, ever since I first learned I could do magic. I wanted--I _want_--to become a great magician, to make my family proud and insure my brothers' future."

"So how is this a bad thing?"

"If I become a Royal Magician, I'll have to move to the palace. I'll have to leave here."

"Ohhhh, I get it. You're afraid Amoretta won't want to go?"

Lillet looked at her oddly.

"What was that, Margarita?"

"You're afraid Amoretta won't want to go, right? That she'll have some dream of her own that involves staying here, or that she won't want to live in the city or whatever? Though I have to say, for someone who likes other girls and isn't even human besides, Amoretta is the most traditional girl I know. I think her childhood dream, if she'd had a childhood, would be to be a bride." Margarita paused, and adjusted her pince-nez to get a better look at Lillet's face. "Lillet, why are you staring at me?"

"Margarita, do you mean that...you think she might want to come with me?"

Margarita snorted.

"What, you didn't think so? _That's_ what all this gloom is about? You were playing out the big goodbye scene in your head?"

Lillet nodded.

"It's a sad thing," Margarita declared, "to learn that one's best friend is an idiot right out of a romantic novel."

"Margarita!"

"Well, it's true. That girl is soppy for you to a degree I cannot believe. It's embarrassing to be in the same room with two people who are so much in love. She'd walk into fire for you; I can't believe the capital would be that bad. At worst you'd have to turn a couple of loudmouth conservatives into toads before they learned to ribbit and let live. The least you can do is go ask her before getting all depressed."

"You're right! I'll go ask her right away." Lillet gave her friend a grateful hug. "Thank you so much, Margarita."

"Any time. And if you want to return the favor, once you get settled in there, invite me to visit and fix me up with some cute baron or duke."

Lillet laughed.

"I'll see what I can arrange. Oh, but what if--"

"No 'what ifs'!" Margarita pointed down the hall. "Go get an answer and then you can worry about the problems that actually happen."

Knowing good advice when she heard it, Lillet darted off down the hall.

-X X X-

Chartreuse Grande's alchemy laboratory was filled with flasks and beakers, bubbling retorts full of strange fluids, and a massive furnace capable of providing the raw heat and power necessary to fuel several of the professor's arcane experiments. Alchemy unnerved some people, since it involved the creation of life by manipulating the basic laws by which the universe functioned. Elves, fairies, and similar creatures of Glamour, which were tied much more closely to the ebb and flow of nature than were humans, feared and disliked alchemical creations for this reason. Lillet, though, always found the alchemy lab a friendly, even comforting place. The absence of creepy ghosts and frightening devils was part of it, but most of all the hustle and bustle of constant activity reminded Lillet of her mother's kitchen on the farm.

"Ah, Miss Lillet! Excellent timing. Could you please add three measures of the powdered dragon eggshell to this beaker before it boils over?" Dr. Chartreuse greeted her. The lion-headed teacher appeared to be trying to carefully measure out three fluids at once, drop by drop, into an open beaker containing a seething, gelatinous mass, and definitely needed an extra hand. Lillet quickly found the requested reagent and spooned in the powder. There was a puff of blue smoke, and the jelly turned a bright red.

"Perfect! I think we can leave that for a while." While Lillet corked the bottle, Dr. Chartreuse slipped the pipettes back into their stands, holding the fragile glass stems with surprisingly delicate gestures of his clawed, almost pawlike hands. Lillet had been told the alchemist had once been a beautiful blond youth as an apprentice before being cursed into his present form, and his movements occasionally showed an elegance and grace that hinted at that former beauty. "I appreciate your help; it's hard to get on properly without a skilled apprentice."

"It's too bad about Bartido," Lillet agreed.

"Quite. He may have been a foreign spy, but what of it? He had a keen mind and a serious dedication to his art. Besides which, you destroyed the Philosopher's Stone, so there was no chance for it to fall into foreign hands, removing the primary danger. Still, Gammel does have an obligation to the crown, and it was better to let young Mr. Ballentyne go home safely now than risk his exposure and capture later." Dr. Chartreuse sighed heavily. "A deuced inconvenience to me, though."

"What were you doing, anyway?" Lillet asked, interested.

"Trying to invent a new breed of blob familiar. I'm hoping that it will contain a fluid reservoir within its gelatinous exterior filled with a strong acid, with which to provide a more aggressive self-defense than the typical blob can muster."

"But you aren't using a Rune."

"No, indeed." His voice deepened, taking on the tone of a lecturer. "Remember that Rune magic is a shortcut which replaces the extended process of ritual summoning, or in the case of alchemy, of laboratory creation. However, one cannot streamline a process that does not as yet exist. Once the experiment is successful, I will know the precise steps to take and can convert them into a Rune so that my new variant can be efficiently summoned and employed in battle."

"Oh, I see. But you could have started by designing a Rune to fit your theory, couldn't you, Dr. Chartreuse?"

The lion-headed man nodded, his shaggy mane dragged back and forth over the broad lapels of his coat by the motion.

"Indeed, but I find it to be considerably easier to establish where one's inevitable errors are made when I employ a traditional alchemical process. A flawed Rune may simply fail without a particular indication as to _why_." He rubbed his furred hands together. "But, as interesting as it may be to discuss alchemy with a fellow scholar, I suspect that was not the purpose of your visit?"

"N-no, I wanted to talk to Amoretta. Is she here?"

"Yes; she's resting in back. Go on. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you."

Lillet passed through the lab and into an adjoining storage alcove. There, within a six-foot-tall glass cylinder filled with pale amber liquid, floated Dr. Chartreuse's greatest creation. As it did every time she saw her, Lillet's heart melted at the sight of the girl the alchemist had named Amoretta Virgine.

Lillet pressed her palm flat against the surface of the tank, feeling the warmth of the liquid within.

_Amoretta_, she thought, projecting the words "outward" so as to communicate.

_Oh, Lillet!_ The mental "voice" that came back sang with happiness.

_I wanted to talk to you. Is that all right?_

_Of course! I'll be right out._

Lillet stepped back and returned to the lab. A few moments later, Amoretta emerged, dressed and made up, from the alcove. Her beauty almost took Lillet's breath away. Amoretta looked to be a couple of years older than Lillet and was a few inches taller. Her features were delicate and her skin pale like fine porcelain. Her hair was ash-blonde, some left to spill over her shoulders and some tied in a waist-length foxtail. She wore short, close-fitting white pants and a sleeveless cloak-like garment of black leather, laced across her otherwise bare chest, along with high-heeled boots as provocative as Margarita's. A long sword with a matching scarlet sheath and hilt was buckled at her hip. She was beautiful, exotic, and perfect.

"Oh, my love," Lillet impulsively grabbed Amoretta's hands, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Lillet, what is wrong?"

"I..." She shook her head. "Can you come with me?"

"Of course."

They left the laboratory and strolled along the hallway, hand in hand. Amoretta's fingers were cool in Lillet's.

"You know that I'm formally graduating from the Magic Academy today, right?"

"You did tell me, Lillet. I'm not forgetful, you know. That's why I was resting in the tank; I wanted to be fresh and awake for the ceremony and the party tonight."

"Well," Lillet took a deep breath and plunged into it. "Professor Gammel recommended me to the Royal House of Magic. They agreed to accept me as a Royal Magician."

"That's wonderful!" Amoretta exclaimed. "You always told me that you dreamed of being a great magician." Impulsively, she hugged Lillet. "When do we leave for the capital?"

Lillet stopped in her tracks.

"You...said 'we,' Amoretta?"

"Yes, of course. Lillet, you're acting very strange."

"You're going to come with me, Amoretta? You _want_ to?"

"Of course I do. Lillet, you know that you mean everything to me."

"Oh, I've been such a fool!" Tears of happiness welling up in her eyes, Lillet flung her arms around the girl she loved. "I was afraid that you wouldn't want to come with me, or that you wouldn't be able to."

"Lillet, I love you. I want to be with you always," Amoretta said simply--but then, to her, it was that simple.

"You'll be all right, though? I mean, we probably won't be able to bring all the equipment from the laboratory along."

Amoretta shook her head.

"No, as long as I have my flask, I'll be fine. The rest of it is just to make it easier to restore myself. It's useful, but I don't need it...and I do need you."

At least on some level, Lillet knew, she meant that not as an endearment, but as literal truth, for Amoretta was not human. Dr. Chartreuse had captured an angel's spirit and sealed it within the created body of a homunculus, an alchemical life form. To him, Amoretta was the perfect creation of his art, possessing a human form, capable of reasoning and emotion, able to move around freely as she liked, separate from the flask that contained the magical force sustaining her life. But as a created life made by human actions, not by God's blessing, Amoretta was not able to be content with existing for her own sake. She needed a reason to be. She needed love.

The type of love, Lillet knew, did not matter. Wife or lover, daughter or sister, Amoretta would have been any of these and happy, so long as it was sincere. Her creator did not love her. Dr. Chartreuse had seen her as an object--the ultimate expression of alchemical skill. Love and family had been alien concepts to him. He did not offer what she needed.

Lillet did.

"You're sure you don't mind leaving the tower? If you need to stay, I'm sure I can find a way to stay as well." She knew, now, which she'd give up if it came to a choice. Lillet loved her family, but Amoretta...she'd _died_ for Lillet more than once in the trips through time, freely gave up her life for Lillet's sake without regret. Lillet had sworn that she'd never let Amoretta be hurt on her account again.

"I've never left the tower before. I think it will be exciting, to see all the places first-hand that I've read about and heard stories of. And...I want to be with you." She smiled shyly. "I miss those days when I hid with you in your room, instead of living in the lab. And I want to see you achieve your dream. I know what that feels like, thanks to you."

She rested her hands on Lillet's shoulders, then lowered her mouth to the shorter girl's for a kiss that was gentle, loving, and made Lillet's skin tingle with longing. Lillet wanted to deepen the kiss, to pull Amoretta close, but the exposed hallway was too public for that, so instead she just gave herself over to the tenderness of the moment, which was over all too quickly.

"So, are you all right now?" Amoretta asked. Lillet nodded back.

"Uh-huh, now that I know we'll be together."

"Good. I know you have a lot of things to do, so...I'll see you later?"

"Oh, yes," Lillet agreed earnestly.

They separated slowly, reluctant to leave each other's presence. Lillet watched Amoretta walk away, her cloak swirling around her ankles, and reflected that she, too, missed the days when Amoretta had been staying with Lillet. Even now they stole whatever time they could together, but it was never enough. As a Royal Magician, though, Lillet would be an adult, with the rights of one to love whom and how she pleased.

A rich, amused chuckle rolled through the hall following the homunculus's exit. As if a veil had been lifted, a dark, threatening aura seemed to swell up around Lillet, and she jumped back, startled, as a devil appeared before her.


	3. Chapter 3

"Mr. Advocat!" Lillet yelped, jumping back a step in surprise. "It isn't nice to sneak up on people like that." She frowned and added, "How long have you been eavesdropping, anyway?"

"Oh, nearly the entire time. It was quite touching."

Advocat was the Magic Academy's sorcery instructor. He looked like a tall, slender gentleman with curling brown hair and a pointed goatee, dressed as always in elegant though slightly dated courtly fashion dominated by blacks and reds. He seemed the very image of a court dandy, a social butterfly whose greatest threat was to the fathers and husbands of easily influenced maidens.

Learning that his true name was Mephistopheles tended to dispel that impression.

"Spying on people isn't nice."

"Come, now, it's a teacher's duty to be aware of what his students are doing. Besides which, you're the most entertaining thing that's happened to this place in years, Lillet Blan."

"Mr. Advocat!"

"No, really. Tempting an angel into delicious sin. Sullying the lovely Amoretta's purity. I couldn't have done it better myself."

Lillet flushed a color somewhere between that of a tomato and a beet.

"It isn't like that," she snapped back hotly. "I love her!"

"Yes, I know. It's a flaw in the perfection of it, but one must take what one can get." He brushed imaginary dust specks from the front of his tunic.

Lillet suddenly broke into laughter. The truth was, she generally got on well with Advocat. The main thing, she'd found, was to remember that he _was_ a devil and not expect him to follow human standards or morality.

"Does something amuse you?"

"Well, I was just thinking...if I didn't love Amoretta, then she'd never let me near her. As a devil, you can't love, so you're right--you _couldn't_ have done it better yourself."

Advocat blinked in surprise, then laughed again, appreciating the point.

"Perhaps it's better that you do leave, then. I wouldn't want one day to find myself dancing to your tune like some conjured imp."

"Mr. Advocat, that isn't possible."

"Of course it isn't, but if you came to believe that it was, it could be very pleasant for me. Your soul would be quite the prize."

"Thank you."

He laughed again.

"How calmly you treat with devils, Lillet Blan. I truly will miss you." He swept her a deep, elegant bow, and in the next instant there was nothing there but a rat scuttling into the shadows. Lillet sighed, shook her head, and went back to her room. Gaff was busy sweeping, and looked up in surprise when Lillet opened the wardrobe door and started pulling out clothes.

"Hey, what's going on?" When she set her travel satchel next to the clothes, he added with a yelp, "You're not getting kicked out, are you? What did you do, get into a magical brawl with a teacher during the morning? Decide to dump Amoretta and run off to Albion after that Bartido guy?"

"In that order, no, no, and _definitely_ not!"

"Then why are you packing?"

"Professor Gammel recommended me for a job as a Royal Magician! Amoretta and I are leaving for the capital tomorrow." She looked around. "I wonder if I can get another satchel. I didn't have much when I came, but now I have all these grimoires to take with me."

"A Royal Magician? But you only got here a couple of months ago!"

Lillet nodded, though she wasn't quite sure that she'd ever look at the passing of time in quite the same way ever again.

"Well, I'm not surprised," Gaff continued, buffing his nails on his green jacket. "After all, you did have me to look out for you."

"That's true," Lillet said. Then, suddenly, she spun, scooped up the elf boy, and hugged him, hard.

"I'm really going to miss you, Gaff. You were my first real friend here, even before Margarita."

"Hey, hey, hold on! That's nice and all but can you put me down?!" he shouted, squirming.

"Oh...oh, sorry," Lillet hastily apologized, setting him back down.

"Yeah, geez, what are you doing, picking up a fellow like that?" he muttered, getting his hat straight again. He was silent for a moment, not meeting her eyes, then said, "So, this Royal Magician stuff...I guess it means you'll be moving to the capital, then?"

"Uh huh."

He tapped his foot slowly.

"Pretty big place..." he mused. "A couple of girls alone there, who knows what could happen to them?"

Lillet wondered for a second where this was heading, then realized what Gaff was getting at. _He can be_ such_ a boy sometimes!_ she thought, but a smile crept out.

"You're right," she said in her best fake-mournful voice. "We'll be all alone there, without anyone to look after us."

"Wellll...I guess I could come along and help out. You know, because those palace servants certainly don't know anything after looking after a magician. You need someone you can trust or who knows what might go on?"

"Oh, Gaff, would you? I'm sure Amoretta would be so very grateful as well to have you along."

"It's got to be done," he decided. "I can't just leave you in the lurch like I was some pixie."

"Thank you, Gaff," she said sincerely. She'd had to choke down a laugh during her performance, but it had to be done. The young elf's pride would never let him admit that he wanted to go with Lillet because he liked working for her and considered her as much a friend as a magician to serve. Boys were funny that way, apparently whether they were human or not.

Since gushing would just embarrass him, she moved on quickly, asking him to talk to Dr. Chartreuse about special packing for Amoretta's flask. It was far too easy for fragile glass to come to grief and a mishap _would not_ happen if Lillet had any say about it!

"Don't worry," Gaff said. "Just leave it to me, and between the doctor and I we'll have that bottle snugged up so tightly you'll be more likely to break than it will."

Remembering her last flight on dragonback, when she'd first traveled to the tower, Lillet didn't think that was all that strong an assurance. When she thought about how she'd whirled through the air, frozen wind beating at her face, her legs and bottom aching from being buffeted in the saddle by the flexing of the flying creature's powerful muscles, the straps holding her in place biting painfully into waist and thighs, she gave serious thought to walking to the capital.

_At least I'm not afraid of dragons any more_, she thought. Summoning them in Advocat's sorcery classes had cured her of that. _I wonder if he has anything that can cure a fear of flying?_

-X X X-

A few hours later, though, the thought of flying dragonback the next day was completely gone from Lillet's mind. She was far too nervous about what was coming next to be concerned about things that were that far off in the future!

Margarita dug an elbow into her side.

"Lillet, your knees are knocking so loudly that they can hear you three tables over!"

"I'm sorry, but does this have to be in front of everybody?"

"Um, yes, that's why they call it a _ceremony_."

On Lillet's other side, Amoretta said, "At least Professor Gammel is doing this now, at the dinner hour, instead of having a special, separate assembly for the purpose. He's probably doing it this way because he knows how self-conscious you are."

Lillet sighed.

"You're probably right."

"Are you going to finish that?" Margarita asked, pointing to the untouched slice of roast beef on her plate.

"Oh, no; I'm so nervous I can barely stand to eat anything."

"That's what I thought." Margarita deftly snagged it with her fork. "You should let Amoretta have that carrot you've been nibbling at. It would be like an indirect kiss!"

While Lillet blushed, Amoretta gave Margarita a curious look. "An indirect kiss? I don't think I understand."

"Because she put her mouth there, then you do the same thing, so it's like--oh, never mind. You get the real thing from her anyway, so you don't need to worry about schoolgirl imitations."

"You're right; you can't feel the warmth of a person's lips on a carrot."

Margarita sighed.

"I so need a boyfriend. Bartido went for you, Lillet, and then got sent home as a foreign spy, and though Hiram turned out to be a _prince_ he was head-over-heels gone for Ms. Opalneria from the start."

"Maybe you can chat up one of the first-years," Lillet suggested. The dining hall was more crowded then it had been in ages, with over a dozen new students referred by the Magical Society having arrived in the past week.

"Nah, most of them are just kids. Only a couple of the guys are even fifteen." She sighed again, then grinned slyly. "Or I could follow my best friend's example and have Dr. Chartreuse _make_ me one."

"Margarita!"

"I don't think that would work," Amoretta said seriously and without trace of offense. "A homunculus needs love to exist, and from what you say, you're looking more for a sense of romance, a light flirtation, and an object of lust."

"You're right, darn it. Oh, hey--Professor Gammel is standing up. This could be it!"

Lillet swallowed nervously. Gammel had indeed risen to his feet at the professors' table. With a few chimes of his spoon against his glass he quickly captured everyone's attention.

"Ladies, gentlemen, as some of you are aware there is a presentation to be made this evening, one in which I take the greatest pleasure in giving. I thought it best to wait until everyone has had the chance to eat; when you get to be my age you learn that speeches are better digested as a dessert rather than as an appetizer."

He paused while there were a few appreciative chuckles, then went on.

"When I founded this academy, magic was largely considered to be a frightful and dangerous thing. People feared it as unnatural and outside their experience, or they believed it to be a devil's trick despised by God. Some of you"--his eyes flashed to Margarita--"have experience with this sort of attitude even today, so you can easily imagine how things were then. The fact that the Archmage Calvaros had used magic in his attempt to overthrow the social order, to try to conquer this kingdom and no doubt the world, only emphasized this negative impression.

"Thus, the purpose of the Magic Academy was twofold. On the one hand it provides a place where the teaching of magic can proceed in an orderly fashion, not hiding away in shadows but openly and honestly, like any other branch of human knowledge. On the other, it provides you, the students, with the opportunity to explore your magical gifts freely, to learn and grow and to become the person you were meant to be without having to face fear and ignorance at every step. I tell every student upon arrival that classes are organized around you; this is not a pithy motto but the simple truth, for it is you, the students, whom this academy exists to serve."

Off to Gammel's side at the head table, Advocat rolled his eyes theatrically. Lillet frowned at the devil teacher and he grinned back, unrepentant.

"When a student completes a course of study here," Gammel continued, _apparently_ unaware of the byplay, "it is more than just a rite of passage, but a victory, one fought and won by that student on his or her own behalf and on behalf of all magicians, past, present, and future. It is thus my very great honor and pleasure that we celebrate such a victory tonight."

He turned directly to Lillet and she quivered in her seat.

"We all of us owe Lillet Blan a debt we can never repay for her actions during her stay here. It is not my intention to go into that once again; many of you already know the story and in any case that is not the victory we are here to celebrate. Rather, I wish to congratulate Miss Blan on another accomplishment of hers, one that may not become celebrated in legends and ballads but one which I hope will lead her to greater happiness in the future. Please rise, Miss Blan."

Legs trembling, Lillet got to her feet. _I don't think I was this frightened when I faced down Grimlet_, she realized.

Gammel reached into his robes and took out a scroll of bright ivory-colored parchment, tied at its ends with glittering silver cords and sealed with crimson wax.

"Lillet Blan, as you have completed fully all the courses of study offered at the Magic Academy at the Silver Star Tower it is my honor as founder and principal of the Academy to confer upon you this diploma of graduation and to confirm your status as a full-fledged magician of this kingdom."

He extended the scroll towards her. Lillet stood paralyzed for a moment, but managed to start forward without needing a push from her friends. She strode between the tables, down the center aisle towards the head table, gaining confidence with every step. She took in the faces of each teacher: Advocat's smug smile, Dr. Chartreuse's solemnity, Opalneria Rain's stern approval. Most of all was the look of pride and affection on the face of the fatherly old wizard that stood awaiting her. Though she couldn't see them, she also felt the eyes of her friends on her: Gaff and Margarita, Hiram, and most of all Amoretta's love, which was like a tangible force urging her onwards. She wished her parents and brothers could be there as well; it wasn't every family of country farmers who'd enthusiastically support their eldest child's desire to pursue a career in magic, let alone send her off to school for it. She wanted so much to repay their support and trust in her, and this would be a wonderful first step.

At last she reached the head table, and Gammel placed the scroll solemnly into her hands.

"Congratulations, Miss Blan."

Behind her, Margarita let out an enthusiastic whoop and began to clap. The sound was joined by another pair of hands and another, and another, until the dining hall swelled to bursting with the applause. Tears of joy pooled in Lillet's eyes. _Thank you_, she thought, thinking of everyone who'd become so dear to her over these few short days, this strange eternity. _Thank you all so much._

And then she turned back to a future, knowing that she had at last reached an end that wasn't really an end at all, but just another step along the way.


End file.
